Demolition at New Apple Campus 2 Well Underway

Thursday December 5, 2013 2:48 pm PST by Juli Clover

Construction on Apple's Campus 2 project is underway, with the company continuing its demolition of existing buildings on the site. Demolition began soon after Apple obtained its ancillary permits following an initial unanimous October approval of the project from the Cupertino City Council.

Road work and construction signs surround the area where demolition has begun, with a clear view of the demolished buildings available from the nearby highway. Apple has also constructed a large wall around the construction area to avoid impacting nearby businesses and residents. Large bulldozers and other equipment are within the campus area, clearing debris, and several sidewalk areas have been closed.

Visible demolition is taking place on the parcel of land that Apple purchased back in 2006, while the HP campus itself remains hidden behind walls and the tree line. The 50-acre prior purchase will make up the southern half of the campus that will house a massive parking structure while the main "Spaceship" building will be located in the northern portion of the property.

Apple received final approval for its Apple Campus 2 project back in November, and following a unanimous vote, Cupertino Mayor Orrin Mahoney told the company to "go for it."

Following the demolition of the existing buildings, phase 1 of the Apple Campus 2 construction will include the famous 2.8 million square foot ring-shaped main building with an underground parking facility capable of accommodating approximately 2,400 cars.

A 100,000 square foot fitness center and a 120,000 square foot auditorium will also be built, and during a second phase of construction, Apple will build an additional 600,000 square feet worth of office, research, and development buildings.

Apple hopes to finish the first phase of the Apple Campus 2 construction by 2016.

Top Rated Comments

Not really related to Macs.
Not really a rumor.
Therefore, let's post this on the front page because we'll post anything these days to get attention.

TO THE MACRUMORS STAFF: sometimes less is more! If it's a slow news day then let it be a slow news day. You could have posted something about the late Nelson Mandela. Just as irrelevant as this story but a million times more significant.

Apple's new campus is a major development in the growth of the company and it is natural for us to document that. Not every post is going to be interesting to every reader, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to have a nice mix of posts.

This post is absolutely relevant to our mission of sharing and reporting on developments related to Apple and its larger markets.

With regards to Nelson Mandela, his death is indeed a notable event and an important story, but it would be inappropriate to write it up here and would likely lead to even more off-topic comments claiming that we post stories just for clicks and ad revenue, which could not be further from the truth.

There are, however, many excellent news outlets (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/nelson-mandela-obit-coverage.html) that have extensive coverage of the life and death of Mr. Mandela. I encourage everyone to give them a read.

Apple's new campus is a major development in the growth of the company and it is natural for us to document that. Not every post is going to be interesting to every reader, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to have a nice mix of posts.

This post is absolutely relevant to our mission of sharing and reporting on developments related to Apple and its larger markets.

To add to your reasoning, what Apple is doing here is of massive importance in corporate architecture.

Those of you not getting it, notice that the buildings being torn down (the metal is salvaged) are perfectly fine 70s-era office buildings, rectilinear, aluminum, glass and stucco, surrounded by acres of sun-baked asphalt parking, right?

Except they're not so fine. They're for putting hive workers into cubicles and making then forget about nature for eight-plus hours every day while they bend their heads over desks in fluorescent lighting or stare at CRT screens.

These buildings are one big reason HP failed to adapt and see that the future belonged to those who would put 1000 songs in their Levis pocket, and then make the music player into a phone and a computer.

Apple's reward is they get to demolish a long era of "beige fascism" in business buildings and show what architecture for human beings looks like. I want to see every detail as it happens. Somebody should be covering this in time lapse. Keep it up, Jordan.

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History has shown, any time a company builds a monument to itself, that's the beginning of the decline.

. . . except for companies that are founding new businesses that have never been seen before in history. Daimler-Benz seems to have survived, Krupp is still around, even Americans can do it, e.g., Ford and G.E.

The way macrumors has evolved in the last year there will be about 200 posts describing every stage of the demolition, construction, tree planting, moving trucks....etc.....gotta get those page views/clicks/$

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Really? A first-page article on demolished buildings? How irrelevant can that be?

Not really related to Macs.
Not really a rumor.
Therefore, let's post this on the front page because we'll post anything these days to get attention.

TO THE MACRUMORS STAFF: sometimes less is more! If it's a slow news day then let it be a slow news day. You could have posted something about the late Nelson Mandela. Just as irrelevant as this story but a million times more significant.

Going by the plans there will be a near forest surrounding and in the centre of the structure. Its idea being you dont see it until the last moment then get a WOW moment that this monolith was here and you had no idea. The inner area being a quiet area of reflection and tranquility bring nature alongside the glass and metal.

- put it on page 2; it MIGHT eventually be page 1-worthy when at least the Apple campus itself is being erected;

- we do not really need to scroll down five different photos of absolutely irrelevant and non-descriptive rubble.

There are plenty of Apple-centric rumor and news sites on the internets. Feel free to visit those instead. It bears mentioning, however, that they'll probably consider construction of the new campus to be front page-worthy as well. Your suggestions aren't humble, they're nitpicky.

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